Bibliographer

“ What they accomplish is not wholly reducible to statistics, nor can their influence be readily traced, perhaps, to the great undertakings of today which overshadow the seven wonders of antiquity. But there can be no question that without the opportunities that here lie for study and research, and—no less important—without the skilled assistance freely rendered by librarian and bibliographer, special talent would often remain dormant and its possessor unsatisfied. ”

“ In them we find such bibliographies as a list of twenty-two medical bibliographers (Auctuarium, p. 288) , fifteen writers (Catalogus, p. 349) on academies and universities (these authors are scarcely bibliographers, but contemporary practice did not separate them sharply [44] from bibliographers) , twenty compilers of catalogues of manuscripts (Catalogus, p. 352) , twenty authors of lists of famous women (Catalogus, p. 352) , and four bibliographers of dictionaries (Auctuarium, p. 298) . [89] There is even a reference to a bibliographer of books of anagrams. ”

“ Other groups of books have demanded less arbitrary handling. In general, I have ruled out chapters on the bibliography of bibliographies in handbooks of library science. By the same token, I have included neither classified library catalogues, public or private, nor catalogues of private libraries owned by scholars or bibliographers in special fields. Finally I discuss only those subject indexes that were published before the bibliography of bibliographies was recognized as an independent scholarly undertaking, such as Conrad Gesner's Pandectae (1548) and Israel Spach's Nomenclator (1598) . ”

“ So much solid sense, careful enquiry, curious research, and not despicable taste, mark his voluminous productions! The bibliographer may rest assured that he will not often be led into confusion or error in the perusal of the above curious and valuable volumes, which have always been considered precious by the philologist.——Morelli. ”

“ As bibliographers, we cannot indeed but wish, that the catalogue of every library were a bibliographical dictionary of its books. Practically, however, we must restrict our efforts, within the limits of probable accomplishment. There is no species of literary labor so arduous, or which makes so extensive demands upon the learning of the author, as that of the preparation of such works. ”

“ TOGETHER WITH OBSERVATIONS RELATIVE TO VICTORIAN BOOKMAKING, RECOMMENDATIONS TO COLLECTORS, AND AN APPEAL TO THE EXPERIENCE OF OTHER STUDENTS FOR ASSISTANCE AND CORRECTION (i) I am aware that bibliographers proper designate by means of upright strokes the alignment of wording on the title-pages of books subject to their analysis. This mannerism I have eschewed, and for two reasons. In the first place, a bibliography so displayed baffles the inexpert reader by a suggestion of mathematical obscurity. ”

“ Bibliographers are now more modest. They recognize that the classification of human knowledge is a question for philosophers and men of science, that the knowledge of chemistry and of its history needed to make a good bibliography of chemistry is altogether extrinsic to bibliography itself; that all, in fact, to which bibliography can pretend is to suggest certain general principles of arrangement and to point out to some extent how they may be applied. ”

“ Lond., 1809, 8vo. If a lucid order, minute and correct description of the volumes of an admirably chosen library, accompanied with a copious and faithful alphabetical index, be recommendations with the bibliographer, the present volume will not be found wanting upon his shelf. It is the most useful book of its kind ever published in this country. Let the bibliomaniac hasten to seize one of the five remaining copies only (out of the fifty which were printed) upon large paper!——Wood (Anthony) . A Catalogue of Antony-a-Wood's Manuscripts in the Ashmolean Museum; by W. Huddesford, Oxon, 1761, 8vo. ”

“ Scientific cataloguing is of modern invention, and to the British Museum it is that we owe the origination of a code of rules—rules which form the groundwork of all modern cataloguing. Good catalogues were made before rules were enunciated, but this is accounted for by the fact that bibliographers, like poets, are more often born than made. ”

“ The practice of giving books of poetry, novels, etc., what may be described as floricultural titles, has landed cataloguers into an astonishing number and variety of errors, some of which have been pointed out by Mr. B. Daydon Jackson in the Bibliographer. The chief sinners have been foreign bibliographers, who, not being able to examine the books which they catalogue, depend entirely upon the titles. The same error occurs frequently here in this country. An English trade journal included Dr. ”

“ The most expert French bibliographers who have distinguished themselves by compiling catalogues have been most severely criticised by writers who no doubt would have been victimized in their turn if they had undertaken similar work. ”

“ I can, perhaps, scarcely express this difference more accurately than by remarking that while the catalogue of a small, and more especially of a popular, library, should be a finding catalogue, that of a large library representing all departments of literature must be to a great extent a literary catalogue. It is not meant merely to enable the reader to procure his book with the least possible delay, but also to present an epitome of the life-work of every author, and to assist the researches of the literary historian. ”

“ Bibliography, in its most intimate sense, is the proper science of the librarian. To many it is a study—to some, it is a passion. While the best works in bibliography have not always been written by librarians, but by scholars enamored of the science of books, and devotees of learning, it is safe to say that the great catalogues which afford such inestimable aid to research, have nearly all been prepared in libraries, and not one of the books worthy of the name of bibliography, could have been written without their aid. ”

“ No person, who is impatient, indolent, inaccurate, or careless in his personal habits; who is ignorant of literary history and bibliography; who is unacquainted with the classical, and with the most important modern languages; or who is destitute of that general knowledge of the circle of the sciences, which is attained in, what is usually called, a liberal education; can be expected to make a catalogue of a general library, that will not be discreditable to the compiler, and to the institution employing him. Great care should, therefore, be exercised in selecting men for such work. ”

“ The catalogs of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, whose extensive collections of French publications (including translations of British and American works) along with important holdings in other national literatures rank it among the great research libraries. In Catalogue général, Recherches simples allows users to restrict an author, title, keyword, or subject search by type of document. Recherches avancées allows searchers to combine fields (such as author, title, subject, keyword, language, imprint, and performance place) and limit searches by type of document and collection. ”

“ To pursue one subject though many authorities is the true way to arrive at comprehensive knowledge. And in this kind of research, the librarian ought to be better equipped than any who frequent his library. Why? Simply because his business is bibliography; which is not the business of learned professors, or other scholars who visit the library. ”

“ In this way; records stand, but the things that they record progress. We must go to the library to find out where humanity stands on the road and what lies before us. If our public comes to us naturally to read these records and if our writers know this and write for a public interested in reality, the library has done its part. Before this linkage can function{293} truly, we must have authors who realize that there is a special library public and who write for it. We are told that the English publishers, before they accept a manuscript ask, “How many will the circulating libraries take?” ”

“ We may perhaps look forward to the day when all the bound books in the library will be for home use, and will give information at second hand, too late for the business man to act promptly on it. The real sources of up to date knowledge will be, as they often are now, manuscript letters, circulars, newspaper clippings and trade catalogs. With their inevitable index they form a huge encyclopedia, absolutely up to date. ”

“ The great object of a Public library is despatch in procuring books. This can only be secured by perspicuity in describing them. In my humble judgment no better mode could possibly be devised for obtaining any particular work than the printed tickets which I suggested in 1837, and which are now in use. By specifying the Titles from the Catalogue, and copying from it the Press-marks, the applicant can at once identify the particular edition or copy of an edition which he requires. ”

“ What does the average user of a public library want to know? He wants to know whether you have a book by a certain author, by a certain title or on a certain subject. Ninety-five per cent of the borrowers of books want nothing more than that, and I am excluding fiction entirely. Consequently for the possible five per cent, and that is a high percentage, you spend much time in giving gratuitous information. The man who knows his subject goes to the bibliographies of the subject and does not depend upon your card catalog for bibliographical information. ”

“ Some cyclopedias are written very nearly in that way, and they are not the best. The expert must be coached before he does his work and the work must be edited when finished. It is on the proper combination of expert and editorial work that the value of the finished volumes will depend. So it is with library selection. The librarian is the editor of a big cyclopedia of thousands of volumes. He must have expert aid in selection, but he must not allow his experts to select the library uncontrolled. ”

“ My standpoint is that of the user, not the custodian, of books, and of the user of historical books in particular. There is no branch of knowledge more dependent upon bibliography than is history. The natural sciences, for example, get their bibliographies through current journals and their original materials in the laboratory, while the student of history must not only cover current literature thoroughly but is entirely dependent upon bibliographies to guide him to the primary sources of his subject of study. ”

“ For the specialist there is no more delightful pursuit than the compilation of a bibliography upon the subject of his choice. Not only will it give him a sound bibliographical knowledge of the books which he desires and hopes ultimately to possess, but it will enable him to collate immediately every volume that he acquires. It will also open up a new field of interest for the young collector, for he will be constrained to study books from their material aspect; and with a knowledge of the 'natural history' of the book will come a regard for the well-being of his volumes. ”

“ If a man cannot touch pitch without being defiled, still less can he handle books without acquiring bibliographical information. I am not sure that the Bibliotaph ever heard of that professor of history who used to urge his pupils to handle books, even when they could not get time to read them. ‘Go to the library, take down the volumes, turn over the leaves, read the title-pages and the tables of contents ”

“ Is it not to the specialists that we owe the bulk of our knowledge of old books—for who else is it that produce the bibliographies, numerous but not nearly numerous enough, that delight the heart of the collector? All praise to them, and, brother bibliophile, if you are not yet of their number in heart at least, read through the foregoing list once more and put a mark with your pencil against the heading which is most to your taste. If you do not see your chosen subject at once, a scrutiny will probably discover it for you included in another and wider subject. ”

“ It shall be the duty of the librarian to cause to be printed, at as early a date as practicable, a full and accurate catalogue of all books, maps, globes, charts, papers, apparatus, and valuable specimens in any way belonging to said library ”

“ The approximately 3,000 works include books, pamphlets, articles, chapters in books, exhibition catalogs, calendars and guides to manuscripts, works on library collections and book collecting, and discographies; they exclude book dealers’ catalogs, bibliographies appended to monographs, and works on the Civil War, the Caribbean, Latin America, and Africa. Organized in a single alphabetical list by author or title of anonymous work, entries generally provide basic publication information but no annotations. ”

“ This popular ideal, however fine in theory, has to undergo what commercial men call a heavy discount when reduced to practice. The librarian is a constant and busy worker in far other fields than exploring the contents of books. His day is filled with cataloguing, arranging and classifying them, searching catalogues, selecting new books, correspondence, directing assistants, keeping library records, adjusting accounts, etc., in the midst of which he is constantly at the call of the public for books and information. ”

“ He will therefore not admit indiscriminately every book into his collection, but will select such only as are of genuine merit and of well-approved utility; and his acquisitions, guided by the principles of an enlightened economy, will be rendered still more valuable by the substantial merits of an able classification. It is impossible, in fact, to attach too much importance to the advantages resulting from an intelligent and methodical order in the arrangement of a library. ”